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Chapter 1 - Cloudy Future (EtC)
As much as the Troupe had been optimistic going forward beyond the Mushroom Kingdom, that optimism had soon dissipated away, to be replaced by the frustration and annoyance that came from rubbing shoulders too much. Jon Dory had only one room for living quarters, and three bunk beds, rather than the six separate rooms the Troupe were used to in the Mountain Base. Eelee had been used to a lack of sleep in their pursuit of Mercules, but as he rested each night, he couldn’t help thinking that he had got more rest on the bridge with Jon Dory. Jamie and Yoshi, sharing a bunk, kept telling each other their totally hilarious jokes and giggling into the night. Eventually, a week after liberating Squirt and Crystal from Mercules, Eelee got fed up with the inability to sleep properly, exiting the living quarters and striding down the halls to the bridge. One of himself, Rob and Squirt was to be in the bridge at all times. Even though Jon Dory desperately tried to convince Eelee that he was capable of flying the Doomship on autopilot, Eelee preferred to have a conscious body on the bridge. Unfortunately, as he strode onto the bridge, he saw a familiar shape dozing in a chair. “Squirt!” Eelee bellowed, causing the man to jolt up from his position in Eelee’s chair in front of the yoke. “No sleeping on the job! Didn’t I specifically tell you that?” Guilt briefly flashed in Squirt’s eyes, to be replaced by defiance momentarily. “You can’t tell me what to do!” Squirt shot out, making his muscles taut with anger. Squirt then realized what he had just said, stiffening in embarrassment and displeasure. Eelee sighed. “Congratulations. Now you sound like Jamie and Yoshi...” Waving off the tall hero with his left hand and placing a right palm on his face, he groaned. “Just go to bed.” “So, just how long have you been sponsoring this, Jon Dory?” Eelee questioned the sentient Doomship when Squirt had left, settling down in his chair in front of the windshield, glancing out at the cloudless night, the full moon sparkling down on the ocean far, far below. Jon Dory waited a second before responding, crackling in thought. “Shut up, Eelee,” came his inevitable response in his indomitable fashion, the lack of intonation making it a bit amusing to Eelee’s ears. It was frustrating, however, that the A.I. thought that that was a viable answer, and it was increasingly becoming his answer to everything - he was no doubt listening to Yoshi and Jamie. “Look, I’ll unplug you if you don’t answer me,” Eelee snapped, annoyed with his Doomship. “I know how to manually pilot an airship and the various functions of an airship.” As if to threaten Jon Dory, he grabbed the two handles of the yoke, holding it steady. “I’m perfectly capable of flying myself.” Jon Dory replied after a second. “I don’t see why you’re robbing your crew of sleep when they don’t need to be awake.” “I’d like to see the amount of sleep any of them can catch with Jamie and Yoshi.” “Point taken.” “Where are we flying, anyway, JD?” Eelee asked after a few hours of silence. It was nice, to watch the first rays of sunlight dapple the waters below - their westward direction meant that they were still facing stars. Eelee had a general idea of where they were - they had managed to catch up to Mercules and his ship over Rogueport, and were around the Waffle Kingdom, but it would be good to have a definitive position. “Over the northern edge of the Waffle Kingdom, the Syrup Mountains,” Jon Dory droned out, allowing Eelee to pinpoint their location mentally. They were right on the edge of the known Mushroom World territory, with just an archipelago owned by the Waffle Kingdom north of their location marked on any maps.” “And who’s the numbskull that thought up that idea?” Eelee spun around in his chair, to see the blinding white smile of Yoshi, accentuated by his sunglasses perched on his rugged visage. Behind him was Jamie, wearing his white robes as always, his mask below his chin today and a displeased expression replacing it. Following him was Rob, who was rubbing his paintball mask awkwardly as he approached the chair where Eelee was sitting. “It’s not an idea, Yoshi,” Eelee said matter-of-factly. “It’s a fact.” “I hate to break it to you Eelee, but your ideas tend to connote idiocy.” Jamie’s smug gawk betrayed his confusion. “... Wait, am I using connote right? What does that even mean?” “To imply or suggest a feeling associated with the word in addition to the abstract meaning of the word,” a deep voice broke in. Eelee glanced over to the entrance to the bridge to see that Squirt, clearly recovered from his lack of sleep, had arrived. “I would clearly make a better leader than Eelee.” “I bring death and destruction everywhere I go. I am the best leader.” Rob’s words stunned the troupe into silence. Mostly out of pity. “Ooh!” Jamie ran past Eelee’s chair, sending it spinning with him in it. “Are we near the North Pole? We should go to the North Pole! My tanned skin hurts my eyes, I need to go back to looking like a diseased corpse.” “My sunglasses need use, too. My vote goes to the North Pole.” Yoshi sided with Jamie, causing Eelee to roll his eyes. Never did the two have differing opinions. “Ohmigosh GURLS,” a high-pitched squeal reached Eelee’s ears. “We should TOTALLY go to the North Pole! I have to take a SELFIE!” As Crystal arrived on the bridge and injected herself into the conversation, Eelee buried his face in his hands - what sin had he committed to be subjected to this? “I’m about ninety-five percent sure testosterone is the dominant hormone here.” Squirt said snobbily, turning his big schnoz up to the roof of the Doomship, giving Eelee too much of a look at his horrible brown stubble that was fast flourishing into a goatee. Deciding to step in before it was too late, Eelee stood up from his chair and let his gaze sweep his team. Jamie was bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet, causing his spiky purple hair to sway wildly, Rob was standing noncommittal, his expression shrouded by his red and blue paintball mask as always, Yoshi was admiring his reflection in Jon Dory’s screen, testing his appearance with and without his sunglasses, Squirt was glaring at Eelee with his arms crossed and in a huff, and Crystal was brushing her dark brown hair with a hairbrush - at least they knew she was a girl, now. “Let’s think about this logically,” Eelee attempted, knowing the reaction he was going to get. “The North Pole is hardly going to be the place to make our new base, don’t you think?” He rubbed his forearm awkwardly: “Right, guys?” “Yoink!” Jamie reached across Eelee’s face and wrapped his fingers around the lip of his friend’s prized hat, a brown canvas cap with a variety of markings on the sunvisor, and spun it playfully around his finger. “What?” Before Eelee could even internalize what was happening, Jamie tossed the hat to his partner in crime, Yoshi, who leapt up into the air and snagged the hat by the brim, crushing it a little. “My hat!” Eelee cried as Yoshi hit the ground, hat in hand. Racing across the hardwood floor, Eelee stumbled a little as Jon Dory began to descend. “Jamie, catch!” Called Yoshi, racing over to the rightmost wall and throwing the hat, bunched up by being clenched in his fist, back to Jamie. It flew over Eelee’s head, and despite his best efforts to intercept the prize, it sailed over him and into the clutches of Jamie again. A third voice joined in on the shenanigans after a few passes of the canvas cap over Eelee’s head. “Over here!” Squirt echoed from next to one of the glass windows at the front of the room, standing there with a smug look on his face. As Yoshi obliged, Squirt stepped aside, opening the window as he did so, allowing the cap to fly out of the Doomship. There was a brief pause of silence as Eelee raced toward the open window, watching his hat fly downward into the spiral of grey snow-dunes. He slammed his fists onto the metal frame of the window angrily, before shifting his attention to the crowd of spectators, all perpetrators in this cruel prank. “I liked that hat,” Eelee sighed, knowing it would be futile to even try and make them feel a little bit of remorse for losing one of his possessions. “What was the point of that again?” “Your hat went north! We should go north! The North Pole! DISEASED CORPSE HERE I COME!” Jamie answered with a beaming smile, before exchanging a high-five with Yoshi. He clearly thought that the plan he had cooked up was masterful and left Eelee no option but to oblige to their demands. Heaving another massive sigh, Eelee heard the whisper of Rob next to his ear, muffled by his mask once again. “Eelee, you’re always on about wanting to explore and discover more about the Mushroom World - this is the world beyond, remember?” Rob’s voice was calming and soothing after the clear provocativity of Jamie and Yoshi. “What’s there to lose by going north?” “When the member of your team on about death and destruction is the most sane, there’s a problem,” Eelee concurred, turning to look out of the window, seeing the mountains below. “We’ll go north after my hat,” Eelee decided, keen to make it seem like the decision was his. “Indubitably, my good chums. Would any of you care for a spot of tea?” Jon Dory said after a moment of silence, passion and vivacity creeping into his tone. This caused Eelee to turn around and stare at the panel out of shock, a sentiment he knew was echoed due to the gasps coming from the group behind him. “I think I liked the old Jon Dory better!” Jamie remarked, taking the sudden change in personality remarkably in his stride, kicking back in his chair. “Anyway, North Pole, here we come!” Eelee wanted to question the sentient Doomship, but the Doomship returned back to his monotone and crude humour, allowing Eelee to feel like that had been a one-off. The Doomship got quite chilly the further north they went, forcing Eelee to get the blankets out of the storage. The troupe’s sense of optimism and cheeriness seemed to have returned as they went further north, a sense of excitement beginning to build. Personally, Eelee could not see what was appealing about the destitute landscapes and chilly air of the North Pole, but he was glad the team was feeling better. Slowly, the troupe began to lapse into their natural groups. Jamie and Yoshi took themselves off the bridge and went down to the hold, where Eelee hoped they weren’t getting into the food supplies. Squirt and Crystal stayed on the bridge, and judging by the snippets of conversation involving “selfies,” Eelee was positive he did not want to get involved in that conversation. Rob stayed with him for a little bit in front of the yoke, but he soon got bored and went down to the hold with Yoshi and Jamie, allowing feelings of loneliness to creep into Eelee’s skin. He crushed them down and began to talk to Jon Dory, eager to assess the Doomship. He seemed to be acting okay. A loud bang at the entrance to the bridge told Eelee that the brief peace was over. Jamie, Yoshi and Rob swept onto the bridge, breaking the relative tranquility with a cacophony of noise, screaming about something to do with their games in the hold. As Eelee feared, they had got into the food rations, and had spoiled them by bowling with Koopa shells at the crates. “Does it seem colder to you?” Rob remarked, feeling the air with his arms, before hugging himself. “It does to me.” “Rob, you literally CONTROL fire. Everything seems cold to you!” Squirt snapped, before shivering and then wrapping his arms around himself as well. “Actually, yeah, you might be on to something.” “I reckon the heating systems are failing, old chaps!” Jon Dory declared happily. As the heating systems began to abruptly fail, the overwhelming need for heat became apparent. Crystal was sitting by the window of the bridge, staring at the steadily lowering temperature on the thermostat. She desperately chewed on the last rubbery ration they had, but swallowing it felt like two icepicks digging at her throat. “Ugghhh, I’m so sick of this!” She complained to no one in particular. Jon Dory wasn’t too keen on offering any input, his screen remaining blank for an unusual amount of time. The controls -- gears and levers, analogs, switches, dials, meters reading for altitude and air pressure -- all powered off, only to power on again a second after. Eelee moved to the central console. “An error has occurred!” Jon Dory’s voice suddenly rang out in a metallic drone as an error message flashed onto the monitor; it was nothing but a jumbled mess of incoherent letters and numbers. “Yeah, we really couldn’t figure that out!” Yoshi snapped sarcastically, leaping into his chair at the side of the yoke. Eelee tore the shoulder seat belt down, buckling it around his waist. “Buckle up,” he called to his team, suddenly aware of all the dangers of flying so high above the ground. “This is going to be a bumpy ride.” In times of crisis or peril in a Doomship, A.I. or not, Eelee knew that he could take the Doomship to the ground, and safely. “Rob, what’s our current location?” Eelee called, feeling tunnel vision descend on his senses. He slammed the big red button on the bottom of Jon Dory’s panel, causing the A.I. to shut off, and leaving him alone with the troupe and his thoughts. Resting his hands around the M-shaped yoke and feeling the surgeon-like steadiness in his fingers, he glanced above the steering mechanism at the blood-red sky. “We’re over ocean.” Rob’s voice was destitute, sounding devoid of hope. “I hope you know what you’re doing.” “I always do.” Eelee took the moment to boost his own feeling of security and confidence. If they were to get to the ground safely, stay alive, it would be in his hands. They were relying on him. “We’re losing the engines!” Squirt called from Eelee’s right, over Jamie’s head. Cursing to someone, something, Eelee slammed his fist against the yoke. The familiar hum of the engine was distilled with an unfamiliar silence. “Well, turn on the auxiliary power unit, then!” Eelee snarled, his frustration making him short. The auxiliary power unit would power the Doomship, and most importantly, the hydraulics, allowing Eelee enough control to manipulate the various functions required to get them on the ground. “Altitude slipping!” Rob informed Eelee, who didn’t bother to dignify it with a reply. What did he expect? They were a giant hunk of metal and wood flying through the air, and had no thrust to counteract the natural force of gravity. The Doomship wasn’t exactly aerodynamically sound. “I need to know where the nearest land is.” Eelee let the panic he was beginning to feel slip away, and forced calmness to exude through his voice. “We can’t land on ocean.” Eelee could see in his periphery Rob glancing at one of the computer screens, before he echoed the answer. “Are you familiar with Seed Vault Island? It’s northwest from here.” “Vaguely.” Seed Vault Island was part of the northern Waffle archipelago, a tiny island storing various seeds for grasses, trees, plants, in case of a global emergency. But Eelee could care less about that right now: it was land, and land was something he settle the Doomship back onto the Mushroom World. An eerie silence began to descend over the Doomship, their plummeting feelings matching the fall toward the earth. There was not much Eelee could do - he tried to get Rob and Squirt to restart the engines, but they failed. The only thing he could do in this situation was control the descent. Judge the gliding distance to see if they could make the Seed Vault. By his calculations, they should be alright. “Eelee, we’re over the island now!” Rob declared after what seemed like hours of gliding through the air, falling with a cold stone in their bellies, the note of hope in his voice perking Eelee right up. If Rob was hopeful, if Rob was delighted: he believed. There was nothing more important than belief. Even if you still failed, you gave yourself a chance. But if you lacked the belief, if you lacked the faith in yourself, if you never told yourself you could do it: you conceded defeat before the decision was even made. Rob believed. Eelee did too. The darkness of night was beginning to grip it’s inexorable clutches around the Mushroom World as the island finally came in sight below them, the darkened trees silhouetted against the last rays of the dying sun. Seed Vault Island was very hilly, but as they cruised above it, Eelee was looking for a clearing between the rocky and knolly terrain to land the Doomship. “There.” Squirt saw it first, knowing what Eelee was looking for. Just to their right as they began to approach the earth, the hills seemed to end. Eelee guessed that was because a beach was just beyond it: which means they could go plunging into the ocean if the strip of non-hilly land was not large enough. Furthermore, he would have to align the Doomship with the limiting factor of the time before they hit the ground. “No.” Eelee declared; deciding in a split second. “We’re going there.” He had seen another portion of flat land, this one directly ahead, and likely not opening up to the ocean, for it was closer inland. There was no time for Squirt to argue - the second required to head to the second clearing had passed. They were zipping above the terrain now, they were speeding along at terrifying speeds, they may as well have been on the ground with the hills zooming around them. But as Eelee helped Jon Dory cleared the last of the trees and hills before the clearing, elation surged through him. They were going to make it. They were going to stay alive. A heavy thud echoed through the Doomship as they landed on the ground, skidding along the rough terrain not designed for the landing of a heavier-than-air aircraft. Eelee applied the brakes, and he knew Rob and Squirt were doing the same. He could feel their speed beginning to slow down: he knew he had made a controversial decision by going against what Squirt had felt, but he also knew that it was the right one. But then, there it was. A hill loomed up in front of them. Eelee tore the yoke to the right side as best he could, but it was already too late. The Doomship, unbalanced by the sudden maneuver, began to lean to the left, before Eelee lost all control as it tipped over. The ceiling was now the floor, their heads were lolling as the world began to be lost in a haze of metal tearing, wood breaking and screams. Screams. A heavy thud echoed through the Doomship, dazing Eelee. He barely registered they had came to a halt. One thought was firm in his mind as he began to lose consciousness: I made the wrong decision. I wasn’t perfect. I failed.